Patients who undergo hemodialysis or other procedures that remove fluid from blood often die of cardiac complications. Many factors may contribute to such death, including stress placed on the heart due to the increased blood fluid volume in these patients. Increased fluid concentrations and inability to appropriately remove waste products from the blood can also contribute to electrolyte and pH imbalance that can affect cardiac contractility and efficiency. Further, rapid changes in fluid volume or pH or electrolyte concentration of the blood during hemodialysis or other fluid removal processes may place additional stress on the heart and may contribute to the high rate of morbidity for patients who undergo blood fluid removal procedures.
When a patient reaches a point where routine blood fluid removal procedures are prescribed, the patient undergoes periodic examinations that allow a healthcare provider to set various parameters of the blood fluid removal procedures, such as the profile of fluid removal, the composition of dialysate or replacement fluid employed, and the like. These examinations typically occur once a month in accordance with current standards of care.
While such monthly examinations somewhat provide for blood fluid removal sessions tailored according to the patient's needs, it may be desirable to provide a more systematic evaluation of the patient and the blood fluid removal session parameters to achieve a more patient-specific therapy.